Much media coverage has been given to the civic spirit of the 70,000 Olympic volunteers, the 'games makers', the people who have given their own time free of charge to man gates, ferry around VIPs, and provide services to the teams, plus the City Hall-organised ambassadors who help tourists and visitors to the capital.

Without them, either the Olympic payroll budget would have rocketed or the Olympics simply could not have taken place. (I must declare an interest here as I am one of them, as you can read on pages 18-19).